'Chance to shine among the stars'

STOCKTON - Leona Marino spoke about the importance of her group's mission and asked for volunteers for the tasks at hand.

Scott Linesburgh

STOCKTON - Leona Marino spoke about the importance of her group's mission and asked for volunteers for the tasks at hand.

Everyone in the room quickly raised their hands in unison, and they pledged to help as their favorite team, the Stockton Thunder, plays host to its first all-star game.

The ECHL All-Star Game and skills competition will be held on Jan. 22-23 at Stockton Arena. Putting on the events is a huge project, and the team and the ECHL are looking for volunteers.

The club members and other Thunder fans have responded because they want to help their team and the city of Stockton.

"This is great for the team and the city of Stockton," said Marino, the club's president for three years. "This is our chance to really pitch in and help, and it's our chance to shine among the stars."

The Thunder Hockey Booster Club, which has 214 members, will be charged with helping to pick up the players at Sacramento International Airport on Jan. 21 and 22. Marino said 27 members would be involved in the project.

The group will mobilize like a well-trained military unit. The boosters will be rotating through 12-hour shifts at the airports' two terminals. They will greet players with signs, their new bright yellow shirts and gift bags containing apples, peanuts and bottles of water for the ride to Stockton.

"We'll make sure they feel welcomed," Marino said. "We'll basically spend two days at the airport."

The boosters met on Thursdayat their regular spot, Mr. D's Pizza in Stockton, in a small room with a Thunder logo painted on the wall. Marino and club vice president Kelli Ellis gave out the shirts, which have an all-star logo on the front, and assigned members to shifts at the airport.

"I'm a night person, so I'm fine with the graveyard shift," said Jacqui Davy, 63, of Lodi. "I'm just very excited to be a part of this."

One of the first to raise his hand was 25-year-old Randy Gadler of Valley Springs.

"I've been following the team for two years, and this is going to be great," Gadler said. "We're all very excited."

The league and the host team usually ask the local fan club to help out at the all-star game, and Thunder president Dan Chapman had no doubt the franchise's fans would be willing.

The Thunder led the ECHL in attendance in its first two seasons, and currently has the lead again with an average of 6,634 fans per game.

"Our fans are great, and they immediately volunteered to help out," Chapman said. "Their passion is all about hockey. So when we ask them to do something, the answer is always yes."

And it's not just members of the fan club who are willing to pitch in. John Taylor and Steve Henshaw, both of Stockton, will be "shadows" for the all-star teams. They will make sure the teams get to their appointments on time and help make the playersfeel as comfortable as possible.

"It's going to be great fun," said Taylor, 53. "I wanted to get involved in any way I could."

Henshaw, a 55-year-old season-ticket holder, said he's volunteering not only to help the team and league, but also Stockton.

"This is a good town; it's just that sometime people don't realize it," Henshaw said. "I think it's a tremendous honor to host this game."

Marino, a Stocktonian, agrees this is a good chance to show off the city. And the members of the booster club are willing to do more than greet the players and shuttle them to the hotel.

"If the league and the team need more, they just have to come to us," Marino said. "We love the Thunder, and will do anything we can to help."